Hunter Found Not Guilty After Shooting Marine Reservist He Misto - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Hunter Found Not Guilty After Shooting Marine Reservist He Mistook For A Bear

Posted: Updated:

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon hunter has been found not guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of a Marine reservist he says he mistook for a bear.
    
The Statesman Journal newspaper reports the Salem jury deliberated for about two hours Friday before acquitting Eugene Collier.
    
The 68-year-old was the last witness to take the stand.
    
He told jurors he was shooting to kill when he fired the .270-caliber bullet that caused the death of 20-year-old Christopher Ochoa, of French Camp, Calif., in October 2011 near Silver Falls State Park.
    
Collier was hunting with his 12-year-old grandson and says he thought he was shooting a bear
    
He and his wife met with members of Ochoa's family privately after the trial ended. Neither family spoke with the media after the verdict.
   

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

  • Most Popular StoriesMost Popular Stories

  • Saturday, January 12 2013 1:32 AM EST2013-01-12 06:32:20 GMT
    SPOKANE, Wash. - After months of secrecy, new documents first released to KHQ reveal an intricate and complex investigation into several Spokane spas which law enforcement believes were fronts prostitution rings.
    SPOKANE, Wash. - After months of secrecy, new documents first released to KHQ reveal an intricate and complex investigation into several Spokane spas which law enforcement believes were fronts prostitution rings.

  • KAMIAH, Idaho. - A North Idaho woman's drive along the Lochsa River earlier this month turned into a nightmare after she was impaled through her neck by a tree limb.
    KAMIAH, Idaho. - A North Idaho woman's drive along the Lochsa River earlier this month turned into a nightmare after she was impaled through her neck by a tree limb. Twenty-year-old Michelle Childers and her husband, 22-year-old Daniel Childers, were taking a recreational drive along the Lochsa River on September 5. Michelle says they had driven down a dead end road and were on their way back out when, somehow, a limb from a spruce tree came through the passenger window and impaled her neck.

  • Friday, May 17 2013 10:55 PM EDT2013-05-18 02:55:49 GMT
    COURT DOCUMENTS: An unidentified woman indicated to investigators that Spokane Police Officer Jeff Graves raped her.
    COURT DOCUMENTS: An unidentified woman indicated to investigators that Spokane Police Officer Jeff Graves raped her. The woman claims Graves used the GPS location provided on Facebook messages to figure out where she lived. The woman claims Graves eventually began showing up at her work place, too. She says he arrived at her home and work many times. READ THE FULL DETAILS INSIDE OF THE STORY>>>